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A family of six launched suicide attacks on Christians attending Sunday services at three churches in Indonesia's second-largest city of Surabaya, killing at least 13 people and wounding 40, officials said.

Indonesia, the world's largest Muslim-majority country, has seen a recent resurgence in homegrown militancy and police said the family who carried out the May 13 attacks were among 500 Islamic State sympathisers who had returned from Syria.

“The husband drove the car, an Avanza, that contained explosives and rammed it into the gate in front of that church,” East Java Police spokesman Frans Barung Mangera told reporters at the regional police headquarters in Surabaya.

The wife and two daughters were involved in an attack on a second church and at the third church “two other children rode the motorbike and had the bomb across their laps”, Mr. Mangera said.

The two daughters were aged 12 and nine while the other two, thought to be the man’s sons, were 18 and 16, police said.

They blamed the bombings on the Islamic State-inspired group Jemaah Ansharut Daulah (JAD).

JAD is an umbrella organisation on a U.S. State Department terrorist list that is estimated to have drawn hundreds of Islamic State sympathisers in Indonesia.

Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attacks, in a message carried on its Amaq news agency.

“This act is barbaric and beyond the limits of humanity, causing victims among members of society, the police and even innocent children,” President Joko Widodo said during a visit to the scene of the attacks.

Streets around the bombed churches were blocked by checkpoints and heavily armed police stood guard as forensic and bomb squad officers combined the area for clues.

Television footage showed one church where the yard in front appeared engulfed in fire, with thick, black smoke billowing up. A large blast was heard hours after the attacks, which Mr. Mangera said was a bomb disposal squad dealing with a device.

The attacks come days after militant Islamist prisoners killed five members of an elite counter-terrorism force during a 36-hour standoff at a high security jail on the outskirts of the capital, Jakarta.

The church attacks were likely linked to the prison hostage standoff, said Wawan Purwanto, communication director at Indonesia’s intelligence agency.

“The main target is still security authorities, but we can say that there are alternative (targets) if the main targets are blocked,” he said.

At St Mary’s catholic church, the first place of worship to be attacked, the bombing happened after an earlier mass was over and when the church was getting ready to hold another service.

A witness interviewed by CNN Indonesia said shortly before the explosion he saw a person on a motorbike drive in carrying a cardboard box.

Separately, an internal police report reviewed by Reuters said a suspected bomb exploded in a car in the parking lot of a Pentacostal church, setting alight dozens of motorbikes.

In the third location, the Indonesian Christian Church, veiled women entered the church’s yard where they were stopped by a security guard before an explosion occurred at the same spot, according to the police report.

Television images showed toppled and burnt motorcycles and debris scattered around the entrance of one church and police cordoning off areas as crowds gathered.

A spokesman for Indonesia’s church association (PGI) called on the government for more help on security at churches. “PGI is concerned because this had happened many times and often taken place around the time of Sunday services,” said Jeirry Sumampow, a spokesman for the Indonesia’s Communion of Churches.

Pope Francis offered his prayer to the victims during his Sunday prayer in Rome.

“I am particularly close to the dear people of Indonesia, especially to the communities of Christians of the city of Surabaya, which were hit hard by the serious attack on places of worship,” he said.

“Together we invoke the God of peace (asking him) to cease these violent actions and (to make sure) that in the heart of all there could be a space not feelings of hatred and violence, but of reconciliation and fraternity.”

Nearly 90% of Indonesians are Muslim, but the country is also home to sizeable communities of Hindus, Christians, Buddhists, and people who adhere to traditional beliefs.

Indonesia has had some major successes tackling militancy inspired by al Qaeda’s attacks on the United States in 2001. But there has been a resurgence of Islamist activity in recent years, some of it linked to the rise of Islamic State.

The most serious incident was in January 2016 when four suicide bombers and gunmen attacked a shopping area in central Jakarta.

Churches have also been targeted previously, including near-simultaneous attacks on churches there at Christmas in 2000 that killed about 20 people.

The Central government has banned new offshoots of the al-Qaeda and the Islamic State (IS) under the anti-terror Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), according to an official order.

Both Al-Qaeda in Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Sham-Khorasan (ISIS-K) (an Afghanistan-based affiliate of IS), have been declared unlawful by the Union Home Ministry as they were found to be radicalising Indian youths for “global jihad” and encouraging terror acts on Indian interests, it said.

The ISIS-K is also known as Islamic State in Khorasan Province (ISKP)/ISIS Wilayat Khorasan, the order said.

The AQIS is a terrorist organisation that has committed acts of terrorism in the neighbouring countries and had been promoting and encouraging terror acts on Indian interests in the Indian subcontinent, the order said. It has been attempting radicalisation and recruitment of youths from India, the order said.

The ISKP/ISIS Wilayat Khorasan was also promoting and encouraging terrorism in the Indian subcontinent, according to the order. It had been committing terrorist acts to consolidate its position by recruiting youths for ‘global jihad’ and to achieve the objective of establishing its own ‘caliphate’ by overthrowing democratically elected governments, the order said.

The UAPA has strict penal provisions to deal with banned organisations and their members.

Four militants, including the head of the Islamic State Jammu and Kashmir (ISJK), were killed during a gunfight with security forces in Jammu and Kashmir's Anantnag district today, police said.

A policeman and a civilian were also killed in the exchange of fire between militants and security forces in a village in Srigufwara, a senior police official said.

Police identified one of the militants killed as Dawood, who was heading the ISJK, an affiliate of ISIS, he said.

Three civilians are reported to be critical.

"Four militants have been killed in the encounter at Srigufwara and their bodies have been recovered," Director General of Police (DGP) S P Vaid added.

He said a policeman was also killed during the encounter, which was now over.

Security forces launched a cordon and search operation in Khiram in Srigufwara area of the south Kashmir district this morning after receiving specific intelligence inputs about the presence of militants in the area, a police official said.

He said the search operation turned into a gunfight after the militants fired at the forces, who retaliated.

Clashes broke out near the encounter site when a group of youth started pelting stones on the forces, a police official said.

Security forces used force on the protestors and several civilians were injured, he added.

Authorities have suspended mobile internet services in three districts, Srinagar, Anantnag and Pulwama of the valley as a precautionary measure to maintain law and order.

In a step leading to more "secularism" in Kerala and India..Is IS draft still on? 11 missing from two Kerala families...The missing have been named as Nasira, 25, of Mundankulam in Chemmanad, her husband Sabad, 32, their children Musab, 5, Marjana, 3, and Muqabil, 1, and Sabad's second wife Raihanath, 23. Ansar from Ankanoor and his wife and three children have also gone missing.Missing person from Kasargod sends message from Yemen......Kasargod: The voice clip of Kasargod native Savad, who had gone missing after leaving for Dubai from Kasargod, was rendered to his relatives. The audio clip states that Savad and his relatives had reached Yemen for educational purpose.

Unidentified gunmen beheaded three men and torched a boys' school in Nangarhar province in eastern Afghanistan late on Saturday, in an attack officials blamed on Islamic State militants.

“They brutally beheaded three attendants and set fire to the school building,” Mohammad Asif Shinwari, spokesman for the education department said, adding that the administrative offices and the school library were completely burnt.

So far no group has claimed responsibility for the attack, which came after warnings from Islamic State last month of attacks on schools in Nangarhar, on the border with Pakistan, where the militants have established their main stronghold.

In a statement, the provincial governor blamed the incident on Islamic State, which has conducted a series of brutal attacks in the province and other areas, regularly beheading victims they accuse of cooperating with the government.

Many among Afghanistan's dwindling Sikh minority are considering leaving for neighbouring India, after a suicide bombing in the eastern city of Jalalabad on Sunday killed at least 13 members of the community .

The victims of the attack claimed by terrorist group Islamic State included Avtar Singh Khalsa, the only Sikh candidate in parliamentary elections this October, and Rawail Singh, a prominent community activist.

"I am clear that we cannot live here anymore," said Tejvir Singh, 35, whose uncle was killed in the blast.

"Our religious practices will not be tolerated by the Islamic terrorists. We are Afghans. The government recognises us, but terrorists target us because we are not Muslims," added Singh, the secretary of a national panel of Hindus and Sikhs.

The Sikh community now numbers fewer than 300 families + in Afghanistan, which has only two gurdwaras, or places of worship, one each in Jalalabad and Kabul, the capital, Singh added.

Although almost entirely a Muslim country, Afghanistan was home to as many as 250,000 Sikhs and Hindus before a devastating civil war in the 1990s.

Even a decade ago, the US State Department said in a report, about 3,000 Sikhs and Hindus still lived there.

Despite official political representation and freedom of worship, many face prejudice and harassment as well as violence from terrorist Islamist groups, prompting thousands to move to India, their spiritual homeland.

Following the Jalalabad attack, some Sikhs have sought shelter at the city's Indian consulate.

"We are left with two choices: to leave for India or to convert to Islam," said Baldev Singh, who owns a book- and textile shop in Jalalabad.

India has issued long-term visas to members of Afghanistan's Sikh and Hindu communities.

"They can all live in India without any limitation," said Vinay Kumar, India's ambassador to Afghanistan. "The final call has to be taken by them. We are here to assist them."

Kumar, who was in the Indian capital, New Delhi, to discuss the security situation, said the government was helping organise the last rites of Sikhs killed in the blast.

'We are not leaving'

But other Sikhs, with land or businesses and no ties to India, say they do not plan to leave, as Afghanistan remains their country. India has offered to take the dead bodies, but at least nine were cremated according to Sikh rites in Jalalabad.

"We are not cowards," said Sandeep Singh, a Sikh shopkeeper in Kabul. "Afghanistan is our country and we are not leaving anywhere."

The attack targeted "Afghanistan's multicultural fabric", + Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday. He is expected to hold a meeting to discuss the security threats to Indian and religious minorities.

India, a longstanding ally of Afghanistan, has invested in several large development projects, but heightened security risks have prompted its companies to cut back operations.

The two countries' officials have not been able to free seven Indian engineers kidnapped in May in the northern province of Baghlan.

In Germany and France, authorities thwarted terrorists’ plots to attack with the deadly poison ricin. In eastern Syria, the Islamic State group continued its retreat under stepped-up assaults by Kurdish militia and Iraqi pilots. And extremists in Yemen, Somalia and Libya were targeted by US airstrikes.

That spate of action, over the past few weeks alone, illustrates the shifting and enduring threat from Islamic extremism around the world that will last long after the Islamic State is defeated on the battlefield.

From the scheming of lone extremists with no apparent connections to terrorist groups, like the ricin plots, to fighters aligned with the Islamic State or al-Qaida in more than two dozen countries, terrorist threats are as complex and diverse as ever, US and other Western intelligence officials said in interviews.

The Islamic State, in particular, is adapting to setbacks and increasingly using the tools of globalization — including bitcoin and encrypted communications — to take their fight underground and rally adherents around the world.

“If you look across the globe, the cohesive nature of the enterprise for ISIS has been maintained,” Russell Travers, acting head of the National Counterterrorism Center, said in an interview, using another name for the Islamic State.

“There’s not been any breaking up, at least not as yet,” Travers said. “The message continues to resonate with way too many people.”

The Pentagon’s latest defense strategy elevates Russia and China above terrorism in the hierarchy of national threats. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis met late last month with the four-star commanders of US Special Operations forces and troops in Africa to discuss options for halving the number of counterterrorism forces on the continent over the next three years, and assigning them new missions.

Yet many counterterrorism specialists voiced concern that refocusing resources and political capital could go too far and give violent extremists time and space to regroup and rebound — much as the Islamic State did in 2013, emerging from the ashes of al-Qaida in Iraq.

“Terrorist networks have spread,” said Christopher P. Costa, a former senior director for counterterrorism to President Donald Trump’s National Security Council.

“I fear that without continuing counterterrorism pressure, where there are ungoverned spaces used as sanctuaries, there will be resurgent threats,” said Costa, now executive director of the International Spy Museum in Washington.

US allies are echoing similar fears. “Europe faces an intense, unrelenting and multidimensional international terrorist threat,” Andrew Parker, the head of Britain’s domestic spy service, MI5, said in a rare address in Berlin in May.

The ledger on the Islamic State is a mix of glaring weaknesses and stubborn offsetting strengths.

The Islamic State has lost nearly all of the territory it seized in 2014 in Iraq and Syria, but it still controls about 1,000 square miles, or roughly twice the size of Los Angeles, according to US officials. “There’s still hard fighting ahead,” Mattis told reporters last week.

Many of the group’s senior leaders have been killed. But US intelligence and military officials warn that the Islamic State still holds sway with a potent appeal on social media for adherents, from Europe to the Philippines, to carry out attacks wherever they are.

Thousands of the roughly 40,000 fighters from more than 120 countries who joined the Islamic State in battle since 2014 died in Syria and Iraq, US and other Western officials said.

But many thousands more probably slipped away to conflicts in Libya, Yemen or the Philippines, or went into hiding in countries like Turkey, the officials said.

“I worry about very seasoned fighters who will pop up periodically,” said Travers, who noted that the continuing turmoil in Syria makes it harder for spy agencies to monitor terrorists on the run. “Some are being tracked, some aren’t.”

Even Islamic State fighters who have been caught pose a dilemma.

The US military is spending about $1 million to help detain thousands of Islamic State fighters and their family members in makeshift camps run by Kurdish militias in northern Syria, drawing the Pentagon deeper into the war-zone detention operations that it has sought to avoid. Critics fear the facilities could become breeding grounds for extremists and repeat a key security miscue of the Iraq War.

The recently resumed offensive in the Middle Euphrates River Valley, called Operation Roundup, has swelled the number of people held in converted schools and office buildings to about 600 Islamic State fighters from more than 40 countries, military officials said.

Only one country has agreed to repatriate its citizen-fighters, and US officials have refused to identify it, fearing the publicity would dissuade any other takers.

New evidence of Islamic extremism has spread to countries that have not dealt with it before, like Mozambique and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

In the northern Mozambican province of Cabo Delgado, a group that alternates between the names al-Sunnah wa Jama’ah, Swahili Sunna or al-Shabab, has unleashed a series of attacks on an impoverished region bordering Tanzania. Local officials said the group has no formal links with the Islamic extremist group al-Shabab in Somalia, but has copied many of their tactics.

Since they appeared last October, the Mozambican Shabab have attacked police stations, government buildings and local villages. Last month alone, nearly 40 people died in the brutal attacks and more than 1,000 were displaced as the militants burned homes, stores and other buildings.

The group’s motivations for the attacks remain unknown. It has made no public statements, nor has it claimed credit for the attacks. But military and intelligence officials said it was most likely formed in reaction to the extreme poverty in Mozambique’s only predominantly Muslim region.

“We are at an inflection point in the broader campaign against terrorism,” said Laith Alkhouri, a senior director at Flashpoint, a business risk intelligence company in New York, assessing the global terrorist threat.

Over the past month alone, and armed with new authorities from Trump, US Special Operations forces continue to hunt Islamic State and Qaida operatives. In June, Trump nominated a former member of the Navy SEALs, Vice Adm. Joseph Maguire, to be the next director of the National Counterterrorism Center.

On June 6, a US Reaper drone killed four Islamic State fighters near Bani Walid, Libya, about 110 miles southeast of Tripoli, Libya’s capital. A week later, another Reaper killed a Qaida operative 50 miles southeast of Bani Walid. Ten days later, in central Yemen, US airstrikes attacked Qaida fighters in the contested central Hadramout region.

The risks of these missions was laid bare on June 8, when a US Special Operations soldier was killed and four others were wounded in an attack in southwestern Somalia against al-Shabab fighters.

Even away from the battlefield, extremists on social media and the internet are proving to be potent. French authorities foiled a ricin plot by an Egyptian-born student in May after intercepting messages on the secure social media platform Telegram.

And in Cologne, Germany, authorities acting on information from US intelligence agencies last month arrested a Tunisian man who tried to buy 1,000 castor bean seeds and a coffee grinder online. The shell of the castor bean is highly poisonous and can be used to make ricin.

Plots involving ricin are not new. In 2011, for instance, US counterterrorism officials voiced increasing concern that al-Qaida’s most dangerous regional affiliate — its branch in Yemen — was trying to produce ricin, to be packed around small explosives for attacks against the United States. The threat never materialized.

Now, officials worry that the know-how from these specialized battlefield plots and operations is seeping into everyday social media conduits, where they are available for aspiring terrorists and even lone actors in their own lethal plans.

Travers declined to elaborate on the German plot. But, “it does appear that the possibility of this kind of use is growing,” he said, speaking broadly of extremists’ use of chemical weapons and other poisons. “And that is a concern to all of us.”

For many within Afghanistan’s once-thriving Sikh and Hindu communities, the attack in Jalalabad city on July 1, claimed by the Islamic State (IS), came as a final blow to the plurality of the Afghan society. Fourteen of their compatriots were killed; among them was Avtar Singh Khalsa, the only Sikh nominee for the upcoming parliamentary elections.

A sense of gloom and hopelessness has fallen over the community since and the tragedy has left them rethinking on their place in the country. “Seeing this incident has broken all of our hearts and spirits. We do not know how to move forward,” said Shyam Singh, an Afghan Sikh from Kabul, at a mass funeral at a local gurdwara in Kabul. Mr. Singh, a tailor, is among the many who have decided to leave Afghanistan. “I cannot afford to leave, most of us can’t afford it, but if we don’t leave, this is how we will end,” he said.

Reduced to 150 families

A refusal on the part of the Taliban to negotiate peace, alongside a steadily strengthening Islamic State (IS) insurgency, has resulted in an increasing number of civilian casualties over the last two years. However, for the minorities, the threat to civilian life isn’t the only concern. The Sikh and Hindu communities have seen a steady decline in numbers owing to religious persecution, especially during the years of civil war and Taliban rule.

And despite the fall of the Taliban and the efforts of the following governments to introduce reforms, the two communities remain marginalised, which has forced them to leave Afghanistan in several thousands. “There used to be several hundred thousands of us at the start of the war, but now there are no more than 150 families left, roughly about 1,300-1,400 Sikhs and Hindus,” said Nirmal Singh, a Sikh merchant from Jalalabad, who was in Kabul to help relatives of the deceased people.

Sikhs and Hindus here have faced a number of issues like land-grab; the absence of an inclusive justice system; and an absence of spaces to practise their faith. “Our children are not in school, because they get harassed and abused,” said Shyam Singh. “We can’t even cremate our dead without the help of the Afghan government and security forces,” added Omprakash Sachdeva, an Afghan Hindu from Khost, who came to the mass funeral to pay respects to Avtar Singh. There have been reports in past of incidents of stone-pelting on Hindu and Sikh funeral processions by locals. “This land belonged to our ancestors for over 300 years, but today we have no claim over it,” he added.

However, many refused to place the blame on their fellow Afghans, instead accusing Pakistan. “Pakistan is our enemy, the enemy of all Afghans. It doesn’t matter if the Afghan government works to improve our lives, Pakistan will not let us thrive,” said Mr. Sachdeva, indicating that Pakistan’s intelligence agency might have had a role in the attack.

The Afghan Sikhs and Hindus who spoke to this writer appealed to the Indian government to intervene and support the community. “At least, help our children get education in India,” requested Shyam Singh. Others like Nirmal Singh and Mr. Sachdeva wanted India’s help in migration, though they were not too hopeful that help would arrive in time. “We will end up in India eventually,” Mr. Sachdeva said. “If not now as the living, then surely after we die; our ashes will be taken to Haridwar,” he said. The others nodded in resigned agreement. “But it would be helpful if we can leave while we are still alive,” said Mr. Singh.

The IS is indulging in genocide of the Hindus & Sikhs. These 150 Sikh & Hindu families in Jalalabad should be immediately repatriated to India and granted Indian citizenship under the new Citizenship laws

An Islamic State suicide bomber killed 20 people in northern Afghanistan on Tuesday, including a Taliban commander, while in southern Helmand province a government commando unit freed 54 people from a Taliban jail, according to officials.

The stepped up activity in Afghanistan comes as Washington considers a Taliban demand for direct talks in hopes of jump-starting a negotiated end to what is now the longest military engagement by U.S. forces.

A Taliban official in the Gulf State of Qatar where the Islamic insurgency maintains an unofficial office told The Associated Press they wanted direct talks. He added that the Taliban was ready to put troop withdrawal as well as any outstanding concerns the U.S. might have on the table, but so far no official request to open negotiations has come from Washington. Speaking on the condition he not be identified, he said de-listing Taliban leaders from the U.S and UN watch lists and recognising their office in Doha, the Qatar capital, would aid progress in talks should they begin.

Meanwhile, in northern Afghanistan’s Sar-i-Pul province, Abdul Qayuom Baqizoi, provincial police chief, said Tuesday’s attack by IS took place as village elders met with Taliban officials.

He said 15 of the 20 killed were local elders and five were Taliban, including a Taliban commander.

The Taliban and the IS have been waging bitter battles in recent days in northern Afghanistan.

As many as 100 insurgents from both the groups have perished in recent battles, said Mr. Baqizoi.

Provincial council chief Mohammed Noor Rahman, however, said the explosion occurred in a mosque as a funeral was taking place.

The area is remote and it was impossible to reconcile the differing accounts.

SSridhar wrote:The IS is indulging in genocide of the Hindus & Sikhs. These 150 Sikh & Hindu families in Jalalabad should be immediately repatriated to India and granted Indian citizenship under the new Citizenship laws

The problem with this solution is that they no longer have any claims to their ancestral homeland.

I think it's time we began to total up the wealth and land which was forcibly taken away from Hindus, Sikhs and other minorities in Afghanistan who were eventually resettled in India, and add it up to a tab for future claims. Also with Pakistan for all migration post 1965, even for muslims returning to India.

The US still has accounts with the Iranians and Cubans despite being on much flimsier ground.

This money must be paid back by the Pakis (who are no doubt the proxies causing the situation in Afghanistan) and equivalent land wrested from them, inshallah one day not so far into the future.

For many within Afghanistan’s once-thriving Sikh and Hindu communities, the attack in Jalalabad city on July 1, claimed by the Islamic State (IS), came as a final blow to the plurality of the Afghan society.

Huh, what ?

When exactly were the Sikh and Hindu communities thriving in Afghanistan

The 22nd report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team was submitted to the UN Security Council al-Qaida Sanctions Committee here [United Nations].

The report said that between 20,000 and 30,000 Islamic State fighters remain in Iraq and Syria and among these there is still a significant component of the many thousands of active foreign terrorist fighters.

One Member State reports that some recent plots detected and prevented in Europe had originated from ISIL in Afghanistan. In addition to establishing a presence across Afghanistan, ISIL also attempts to have an impact on other countries in the region.

"According to one Member State, ISIL in Afghanistan is responsible for at least one attack in the Kashmir region, the report said. However, no details about the attack in Kashmir were given in the report.

The sanctions monitoring team submits independent reports every six months to the Security Council on the Islamic State, al-Qaida and associated individuals, groups, undertakings and entities.

The report added that in Afghanistan, ISIL persistently tried to expand its presence, despite pressure from the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces, the international coalition and the Taliban.

ISIL currently has its main presence in the eastern provinces of Kunar, Nangarhar and Nuristan, and is also active in Jowzjan, Faryab, Sari Pul and Badakhshan provinces in the north. The group has the intention to expand into Ghazni, Kunduz, Laghman, Logar and Uruzgan provinces.

In Kabul, Herat and Jalalabad, ISIL already has sleeper cells and has committed disruptive, high-profile attacks, including against both Government and Taliban targets during the Eid al-Fitr ceasefire, it added.

The report noted that that ISIL has between 3,500 and 4,000 members in Afghanistan, including between 600 and 1,000 in northern Afghanistan (with both numbers on the increase). It is led by Abu Sayed Bajauri who is not listed and the majority of its members and leaders were formerly members of Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan and it may represent an emerging threat to Central Asian States.

A Kashmiri man, suspected to be a sympathiser of the banned ISIS terror group, was recently deported to India from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), officials said here [Srinagar] on Sunday.

Thirty-six-year-old Irfan Ahmad Zargar, a resident of Chattatabal area on the outskirts of Srinagar, was deported from the Gulf country on August 14 and subjected to questioning by various security agencies, including the National Investigation Agency, they said.

He was then handed over to the Jammu and Kashmir police who were carrying out detailed investigations. However, there was no case pending against him in the state.

Zargar, an engineer, is alleged to have been "quite active" on social media and had been expressing his liking for the activities of ISIS in Syria, they said.

The NIA, the central probe agency tasked with investigating terror cases, questioned him for over two days before handing him over to the state police.

Zargar was picked up by the authorities in Dubai on April 28 this year when he was entering into the Gulf country from Oman, they said.

He was subjected to intensive questioning by Dubai sleuths about his activities on social networking sites, especially his appreciation of ISIS activities in Syria and Iraq.

Working with a telecom company in Dubai, Zargar maintained that he had travelled to Oman for setting up a business of handcrafts.

The Dubai officials had carried out thorough search of his apartments in Sharjah and later whisked him away to an undisclosed location. He was deported to India on August 14.

External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj had been approached by one of his kin on her Twitter handle asking for help. The minister had assured them help and the Indian Consulate General in Dubai had initiated a hunt for the man.

However, the Dubai authorities had refused to entertain any plea until they had not completed their own investigation in the case.

Zargar is the third Kashmiri to have been deported for allegedly being sympathisers of the terror group.

Srinagar-resident Afshan Parvaiz was deported from Turkish capital of Ankara on May 25. Parvaiz had left home after an argument with his father, who wanted him to join a college while he was interested in religious studies.

He booked himself a seat on a flight to Teheran on March 23 and was later deported after he crossed into Turkey.

Another youth from Ganderbal, Azhar ul Islam, was deported from the UAE last year for being an alleged ISIS sympathiser.

Mohammed Abdullah Basith (24), one of the two suspects held by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in Hyderabad last week for allegedly “conspiring to further the activities of the Islamic State (IS) in India”, was missing for 10 days before his arrest.

It was Basith’s mother who informed the Telangana police that her son had gone incommunicado.

Basith has been on the radar of the intelligence agencies since 2014 as he had twice attempted to travel to Syria to join the IS. On both occasions, he was caught, counselled and let off.

“When he went missing this time, his mother immediately went to the police and informed them. He, however, came back on his own, but was arrested by the NIA a few days later,” said a family member of Basith who did not wish to be identified.

Visited Delhi

A senior NIA official confirmed that Basith was away from home for a few days. The official said that during the period he went missing, he had travelled to Delhi and other places and had been planning to revive his group for activities in India but had no plans to leave the country. Basith was looking after the family business and had got married in May.

“He has been under constant watch since 2014. When he returned to his Hyderabad house, we called him for questioning and arrested him subsequently. The interrogation is still on, and we cannot reveal the exact conspiracy right now,” the official said.

In May 2017, a news channel, Republic TV, aired a sting operation featuring Basith in which he pledged allegiance to the IS. The Telangana police registered a case, but closed the investigations as the channel failed to provide them with the unedited footage.

Basith first came on the radar of the agencies when he was caught by the Telangana police on August 29, 2014 along with his associates in Malda in West Bengal. Basith planned to go to Dhaka and from there to Afghanistan to participate in a war to help Islam. He was brought back and counselled by the police.

He was caught again at the Nagpur airport in December 2015 when he was about to board a flight to Srinagar with two of his cousins. Basith planned to cross over to Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and travel to Syria to fight alongside the IS.

On January 28, 2016, the NIA registered a case against Sheikh Azhar ul Islam, Mohammed Farhan Shaikh and Adnan Hassan on the charge that the trio and their other unknown associates were members of the IS and were involved in a conspiracy to identify, motivate, radicalise, recruit and train Indian Muslim youth on behalf of the proscribed outfit to carry out terror activities.

The three accused were arrested after they were deported from the UAE on India’s request. It was revealed during investigation that Basith was in touch with one of the accused, Adnan Hassan, who reportedly arranged the money for him to travel to Afghanistan via Bangladesh in 2014.

A chargesheet filed by the NIA in the case said Abu Zakariya, a Syria operative of the IS, was guiding and helping Basith.

“He [Zakariya] used to have group discussions and propagate ideology of the IS and had created Jihadi matrimony to arrange marriage of the IS operatives and guide them to travel to Syria,” a chargesheet filed by the NIA in 2016 said.

On August 12, the NIA arrested Basith and Mohammed Abdul Qhadeer (19), after questioning for almost a week. The accused are in NIA custody till August 24.

This guy would not change by simple counselling etc. He is totally brainwashed.

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the elusive chief of the Islamic State terror group, in his first purported speech in nearly a year, has asked his followers to “patiently persevere” despite the losses they suffered in Iraq and Syria.

The 55-minute recording, which was released by the official ISIS media wing al-Furqan on Wednesday, August 22, 2018, came after reports that he was probably killed in a Russian air strike in May last year on the outskirts of the Syrian city of Raqqa, the group’s primary stronghold.

Baghdadi, whose real name is Ibrahim Awwad Ibrahim al-Badri, has not been seen in public since he proclaimed the creation of a “caliphate” from the pulpit of the Great Mosque of al-Nuri in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul in July 2014.

His last audio message was released in September 2017.

In his latest message, the man on the recording admits that ISIS groups are losing and that it is a test from Allah, saying they need to stick together.

The man then says his followers are being tested with “fear and hunger” but says “glad tidings” will be given to those who “patiently persevere.”

CNN, which carried the report said it cannot independently confirm the voice on the recording is that of Baghdadi.

The BBC also reported that the recording’s authenticity could not be verified, but experts said the voice resembled that heard in other messages.

Admits losses by ISIS

The man in the recording references massive losses by ISIS.

“For the believer Mujahideen, the scale of victory or defeat is not counting on a city or town being stolen or subject to those who have aerial superiority, or intercontinental missiles or smart bombs, and not how many followers they have,” he says.

“The scale depends on how much faith the worshipper has,” he adds.

The speaker makes reference to recent events, including tensions between the United States and Turkey. He refers to the sanctions the United States imposed on Turkey on August 1, “just to release the pastor,” referring to US pastor Andrew Brunson, who is detained in Turkey.

The man also says Russia and Iran are seeking to revolt against sanctions and avoid a similar situation to North Korea. The voice says America is using “the gang policy” and it is a “sign of weakness.”

The man also mentions the Syrian city of Idlib, saying Russian and Syrian military are about to storm it “with the help of traitors,” a reference to some Syrian rebels.

The speaker calls on Sunni Muslims to topple the government of Jordan, which is an ally of the United States and the United Kingdom.

Doubts over the 'audio'

Commenting on the new video, US Central Command spokesperson Capt. William Urban said, “I am not going to comment on our assessment of the recording.

“We do not know where Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi is at this time, but he continues to be someone that we are interested in removing from the battlefield,” CNN quoted Urban as saying.

“I do not believe that any official US government source has ever claimed that he is dead.”

When asked whether that meant US officials believe the ISIS leader is alive, Urban said, “Yes.”

ISIS has since released various audio messages that it claims are from Baghdadi, said to be in his late 40s. In September last year, the outfit released a video that appeared to make reference to news events that happened after Russia claimed he was dead.

Analysts warned at the time that reports of Baghdadi’s death should be treated with skepticism, given the high number of previous false reports.

A UN report published last week said it was still estimated to have between 20,000 and 30,000 ISIS fighters in Iraq and Syria, including thousands of foreign nationals.

The group still controls small pockets of territory in the eastern Syrian province of Deir al-Zour, where it has been able to extract and sell some oil, and to mount attacks, including across the border with Iraq.

The head of Islamic State in Afghanistan, Abu Saad Erhabi, was killed in a strike on the group's hideouts in Nangarhar province on Saturday night, authorities said on Sunday.

Ten other members of the militant group were also killed in a joint ground and air operation by Afghan and foreign forces, the National Directorate of Security in Kabul said in a statement.

A large amount of heavy and light weapons and ammunition were destroyed during raids on two Islamic State hideouts.

The jihadist group's Amaq's news agency carried no comment on the issue, and there was no immediate reaction from the NATO-led Resolute Support mission that trains and advises Afghan forces.

The provincial governor of Nangarhar said Erhabi was the fourth Islamic State leader in Afghanistan to be killed since July 2017.

The group has developed a stronghold in Nangarhar, on Afghanistan's porous eastern border with Pakistan, and become one of the countrys most dangerous militant groups.

The local affiliate of Islamic State, sometimes known as Islamic State Khorasan (ISIS-K) after an old name for the region that includes Afghanistan, has been active since 2015, fighting the Taliban as well as Afghan and U.S. forces.

Former ISIS-K leader Abu Sayed was killed in a strike in the eastern province of Nangarhar and Sayed's predecessors were killed joint U.S. and Afghan operations.

The exact number of Islamic State fighters in Afghanistan is difficult to calculate because they frequently switch allegiances, but the U.S. military estimates that there are about 2,000.

More than 150 Islamic State fighters surrendered to Afghan security forces this month in the northwestern province of Jawzjan, where the group is fighting for control of smuggling routes into neighbouring Turkmenistan.

Police in Pakistan claimed to have thwarted a terrorist attack planned on the upcoming Defence Day and said on Monday they have arrested three Islamic State terrorists in Punjab province.

Muhammad Iqbal, Usman Zia and Hasnain Muavia had plans to target an event on the Defence Day in Multan on Thursday, the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) of Punjab police said.

On the Defence Day, Pakistan marks the anniversary of the 1965 war with India by holding nationwide ceremonies and special prayers.

A CTD official said that the three terrorists were arrested during a raid near Basti Shorkot in Multan, some 350 kms from here.

"The CTD personnel acting on intelligence information raided a house on the outskirts of Multan city and arrested the three suspects.

"Four hand grenades, explosive material and other weapons have also been recovered from their possesision," he said.

The arrested terrorists belong to the Islamic State (also known as ISIS or ISIL) terror group.

A case under terrorism charges has been registered and the suspects have been shifted to an undisclosed place for interrogation.

Last month, the security agencies had arrested two ISIS terrorists from Multan. They had plans to bomb the buildings that house offices of Inter-Services Intelligence and Intelligence Bureau in Multan.

The Pakistani government often claims that there is no presence of ISIS in the country but at times the security agencies arrest suspects belonging to the dreaded terror group.

COIMBATORE: The city police, based on a tip-off from Central intelligence agencies, arrested five Muslim youth for allegedly hatching a plot to murder Hindu Makkal Katchi (HMK) leader Arjun Sampath and his son Omkar Balaji, on Saturday night. Four of them were already on the radar of the Central intelligence agencies when they showed up at Coimbatore Railway Junction; the fifth person had gone to the station to receive the other four.

A social media page was the only link between the four Chennai youth -- Jafar Safiq Ali (29) of Vysarpadi, Ismail (25) of Tindivanam, Samsudeen (20) of Pallavaram and Shalavuddin (25) of Pallavaram, and one Coimbatore boy -- Ashik (25) of Variety Hall Road. And the alleged plan to murder HMK leader Arjun Sampath and son Omkar Balaji.

Sources privy to the investigation told Express that the five had discussed ways to kill Arjun and had spread hatred against on social media, they had plans ready for Omkar as he was an easier target, given that the former had police protection. One of the five members was said to be a sympathiser of the Islamic State of Jammu and Kashmir and a member of the banned terrorist organisation; two others from Chennai were members of political parties. Ashik was facing several cases, including kidnapping school girls {the police should investigate whether it was like 'grooming for sex' in the UK}, in the city. He had been under the radar of the city intelligence for his notorious activities but his radical activities had not come to light till now, sources added.

“Though these youth did not have any previous enmity with the leader, they were inspired by the IS module and other radical religious outfits and hatched a plot,” a senior official said.

Meanwhile, there were claims that the four youth had come to Coimbatore to attend a wedding. However, police confirmed that they were not even invited to a wedding but had come to meet in person and find ways to kill the leader before the upcoming Vinayagar Chathurthi.

‘Threats to Omkar came a couple months ago’

After Coimbatore City Police arrested five youth -- one from the city and four from Chennai -- for reportedly plotting to kill Hindu Makkal Katchi (HMK) leader Arjun Sampath and son Omkar Balaji, sources in the city intelligence confirmed that Omkar had indeed received death threats two months ago.

After top officials in the city police were alerted in early July, people who were considered a threat to him were closely watched.

According to an intelligence personnel, in the aftermath of the murder of Hindu Munnani functionary C Sasikumar, Balaji had reportedly taken to social media and called for people to act against a particular community. It was from then that he had received threats on social media.

Security has been beefed up at the Cuddalore Central Prison following intelligence inputs that the Islamic State (IS) is planning to launch an attack and free an inmate arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

According to the police, Ansar Meeran was arrested by NIA sleuths in February this year on charges of mobilising funds and facilitating the travel of a few persons to Syria and Iraq.

Meeran, who was lodged in the Puzhal Central Prison, was shifted to the Cuddalore Central Prison in July following a clash between two groups of prisoners at Puzhal.

The police said the NIA had received inputs that the IS was planning to launch an attack on the Cuddalore Central Prison and free Meeran. This prompted the NIA to alert the Tamil Nadu Intelligence wing, which in turn alerted senior officials of the Prisons Department.

Following this, a team led by Shanmugasundaram, Deputy Inspector General of Police (Prisons), Tiruchi, strengthened vigil inside the prison to prevent any untoward incident.

A huge posse of police personnel was deployed inside the prison, while armed police personnel, led by Deputy Superintendent of Police Taj Lamech, were posted outside the premises.

The police have also intensified the frisking of visitors and vehicle checks in the district.

Parents of Ehtesham Bilal, 19, who went missing on October 28 but reappeared on Friday in an online post, wielding weapons under the Islamic State banner, asked their son to return home and appealed to Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind chief Zakir Musa to help them.

Distraught and refusing to take meals, Bilal’s mother appealed to her son to shun the militant outfit. “Whatever group you have joined, please return. I appeal to Zakir Musa and will pray for his long life, help me in returning my son,” she said in a video.

Bilal, who was a student at Sharda University in Noida, was reported missing on October 28 by his parents. His father, who owns a hardware shop in Srinagar, expressed shock over his son’s “audio message” pledging allegiance to the IS-motivated Jundul Khilafah and to IS’s Iraq-based leader Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi.

On Friday, a six-minute audio, attributed to Bilal, and pictures, where he was wielding a gun and weapons strapped with an IS flag in the backdrop, were uploaded on social media.

He was apparently referring to a clash that took place between locals and Afghan students at Sharda University on October 4.

A senior counter-insurgency police officer told The Hindu that Bilal has joined militant ranks and his movement was traced to Srinagar and Pulwama. “We are investigating the matter,” the officer said.

National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah described the development as “a worrying trend”.

“Sometimes, seemingly small actions{Obviously, he had already been brain-washed enough and the incident was like the last straw} have huge consequences. If what happened to him at Sharda University has led him to choose such a destructive path, it’s even more tragic,” Mr. Abdullah tweeted.

In a joint operation, the Delhi and Srinagar police arrested three alleged militants affiliated to the Islamic State - Jammu and Kashmir (ISJK) in Srinagar on Saturday.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special Cell) Pramod Kushwah said the arrested militants have been identified as Tahir Ali Khan, a resident of Tral; Haris Mushtaq Khan of Budgam; and Asif Suhail Nadaf from Rainawari, all in J&K.

Haris Mushtaq Khan, 24, completed his graduation in Arts from Jamia Millia Islamia, Delhi, and was pursuing his M.A. in International Studies from the same university. He left studies and joined the militant ranks towards the end of 2017, the police said.

“We received information about the hideout of militants affiliated to the ISJK in Srinagar…a police team shared the information with senior officers of the Srinagar police. A joint team was formed for the operation,” said Mr. Kushwah.

After being tipped-off about their movement, a search was carried out near the Tourism Reception Centre in the heart of Srinagar. During the operation, a suspected militant tried to lob a grenade at the police party. Alert policemen, however, overpowered him and his two accomplices.

At their instance, an underground hideout frequented by members of an ISIS-inspired module was located in an apple orchard in Awantipora.

Financial support

During interrogations, they disclosed the names of people who were assisting them with logistic and financial support. About half a dozen over-ground workers have been picked up for questioning. The ISJK is strengthening its unit in J&K and planning to extend its activities to Delhi and nearby areas, the police added.

“The arrested militants confirmed that Ahtesham Bilal Sofi, a resident of downtown Srinagar, who was pursuing his graduation from Sharda University in Greater Noida, has joined the ISJK,” said Mr. Kushwah. Bilal went missing on October 28 from his college and later his picture in a black outfit surfaced in social media claiming he had joined the ISJK {See the post above for details}.

Strong religious education acts as a bulwark against radicalisation, and most of the Islamic State members had little knowledge of Islam, Asif Ibrahim, former envoy of the Prime Minister on countering terrorism and extremism, said on Friday.

Mr. Ibrahim, former Director of the Intelligence Bureau, was appointed by Narendra Modi as a special envoy in 2015.

At a conference organised by Policy Perspectives Foundation on India-UAE cooperation against radicalisation and terrorism, Mr. Ibrahim said 108 out of 180 million Indian Muslims joined the IS in the past few years.

“Around 50% of the recruits were Indians living in West Asian countries when they joined the IS and they were exposed to the Salafi radicals. 40% of the recruits were from the coastal regions of India,” he said.

Checking radicalisation

“The current narrative is that the more religious you are, the more fundamentalist you are. This was proven wrong by the U.K.’s security agencies. They interviewed IS returnees and 90% of them had little knowledge of their religion. Strong religious education acts as a bulwark against radicalisation. So much so that in many madrasas (seminaries) in India, countering violent extremism is a key chapter in most religious texts,” Mr. Ibrahim said.

Adil Rasheed, a research fellow at the Institute of Defence Studies and Analyses (IDSA), said all Salafis were not radicals.

“Both India and the UAE oppose religious ideology. Whenever there is radicalisation, it is not a single process. If we have to fight the threat, we have to go back to the Constitution. Even the Saudi prince says the UAE model is to be followed [to counter radicalisation]. Radicalisation is the last process; the first is fundamentalism and then comes extremism,” he said.

Not so true. Today religious studies are more rather than in the past. Not only that, earlier people were not forced to wear strict Islamic dress code. Today it's being enforced. The radicalization is happening for a very very long time with the political patronage and most probably what's being taught in various religious camps that are held even for children is the wahabbi ideology or salafi version. There are separate Salafi mosques. Mostly all these happened because of the political patronage to such a change from the left and Cons.

When somebody says that the IS recruits don't know their Islam, one has to ask 'Which Islam'. There are so many versions and interpretations of Islam and each claims that it is its own version that is the true Islam. If one goes by that, every follower of every other version is a murtad (apostate). Clearly, the IS Emir, Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi , quoted extensively from Syed Qutb & Abu Ala al Mawdudi, the two pillars of jihad in the last century, while being anointed as the Emir.

Individual recruits may not be so well versed, but they don't need to be. They are brainwashed and programmed to obey, a chief characteristic of Islamism.

KOZHIKODE: Two peope from Kannur who left the country allegedly to join the Islamic State (IS) in Afghanistan last month are former workers of Popular Front of India (PFI).

Police said K Sajjad and Anwar Poothappara went missing along with their families on November 19 after they told relatives they were going to Mysuru. T P Nisam, another youth from Kuruva in Kannur, also has been reported missing and is believed to have joined the group. {So, recruitment is still happening from India}

Sajjad has gone with wife Shahina and two children and Anwar with wife Afsila and three children. Police said they went to UAE on November 20 and from there to Iran. It is believed the group has sneaked into IS areas in Afghanistan.{All IS recruits from Kerala have ended up in Afghanistan}

PFI sources said Anwar had severed ties with the organisation eight years ago after he went to the Gulf. Sajjad was ousted from the organisation three years ago for 'financial irregularity', {Don't believe anything that PFI says because PFI is SIMI, especially the hardline Safdar Nagori faction} the sources added.

Nisam was a regular visitor to a Salafi mosque now managed by an extreme Salafi group, police said. He has raised questions on certain religious issues to the Salafi preachers. Some controversial Salafi preachers are associated with the mosque, whose speeches had led to widespread protest in Kerala.

Anwar is co-brother of Muhammad Shameer T K, the PFI division-level leader from Pappinassery, believed to have been killed in Syria along with his two children. Shameer, who left for Syria in 2015, is suspected to be the motivator for the group from Kannur which joined the IS last year.

According to charge-sheet filed by National Investigating Agency in the Kannur IS case, it was Shameer who motivated others, including PFI workers Abdul Razak, Mithilaj, Rashid, Abdul Manaf, Muhammad Shajil and Abdul Khayoom, to join the terrorist outfit.

Police suspect that though Shameer is dead, some others are using the connections he had in Kannur to inspire people to join the IS. Shameer and his group went to Syria to join the IS, but the 10 people who left last month may have gone to Afghanistan as the IS strongholds in Syria have been destroyed in the war.

KOZHIKODE: Abdul Rashid Abdulla, the leader of the Islamic State (IS) module from Kerala, has claimed that the launching pad for the IS in Kerala was the Dammaj Salafis (a group of extreme Salafis who are against democracy, pluralism and secularism).

In the audio messages circulated through social media, Rashid said that some of the members of the Dammaj Salafis are contacting the IS with the intention of doing hijra (migration) to the areas controlled by IS.

Rashid, who is believed to be in the IS strongholds in Afghanistan, hails from Kasaragod district. The audio messages are meant to be a reply to the allegations raised by Salafi preacher Zakkariya Swalahi in his book on the IS.

Reacting to the accusations in the book, Rashid said there was some truth in the argument that it was Salafism that prompted the youth from Kerala to get attracted to the IS. “Had there been no Salafism in Kerala, we would have been continuing with the un-Islamic practices of the Sunnis and Sufis,” he said.Rashid said many alien practices have infiltrated among Sunnis from Hinduism and other religions. “It was Salafism that strived to bring back true Islam. It asked the Muslims in Kerala to return to Quran and Hadees, shunning the practices of non-believers,” he said.

In Rashid’s opinion, among the different Salafi groups the one led by Zakkariya Swalahi is closest to the ideology of the IS. “Majority of the Keralites who have joined the IS were associated to Swalahi’s group. We had attended the classes of the group held at Pappinasseri, Kannur and Kozhikode,” he said.Unlike the Sunnis or other Salafi factions, Swalahi group showed courage to teach hijra and jihad in their classes. But Swalahi and his followers are unwilling to accept the IS for reasons best known to them. He has failed to give a convincing answer to this irony, Rashid said. “After reading Swalahi’s book many from the Dammaj group are contacting us for clarifications. They are doing hijra after realising the truth. So, you (Swalahi) should continue to write against us, then only people will understand the fact,” Rashid said.

Rebutting Swalahi’s argument that those who have joined the IS do not have a proper understanding of Islam, Rashid said Quran was not the monopoly of scholars such as Swalahi. “There are many ways to reach right path and the internet could be one among them. Those who ridicule us also have their own website and WhatsApp groups,” he said.

Discounting the allegation that there is mystery in the emergence of the IS, Rashid said that could be the way Allah wanted it to be. People can ascribe mystery even in the revelation of Quran to Prophet Muhammad, he said.

In a pre-emptive counter-terror action, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday {26 Dec 2018} busted a major Islamic State-inspired module based in Delhi and UP that was, according to NIA, at an “advanced stage” of preparation for carrying out a series of bomb blasts in Delhi with crowded areas and important persons as likely targets.

The crackdown on the module, being tracked for over a month following receipt of human intelligence inputs, saw the NIA raid 17 locations across Jafrabad and Seelampur — sprawling slums in Delhi — as well as Amroha, Hapur, Meerut and Lucknow in UP. The module called itself ‘Harkat-ul-Harb-e-Islam’.

Top sources said the “highly radicalised and motivated” fundamentalist module with a handler based in Syria or Afghanistan was planning to carry out spectacular terror attacks. They said the accused had recced several places in Delhi, including the RSS office and the Delhi Police headquarters. BJP functionaries were also mentioned in their chats.

“The module was planning to strike very soon. Its focus was on triggering remote-controlled bomb blasts and, if the need arose, fidayeen attacks. Likely targets included vital installations, security establishments, important persons and crowded places,” NIA’s IG Alok Mittal said. He added that no link was found to any of the NIA modules detected earlier.

While 10 accused, including the mastermind and ‘emir’ of the module Mufti Mohd Suhail, a native of Amroha and resident of Jafrabad, were arrested on Wednesday, six more suspects are being examined. The accused and suspects, mostly aged 20-30 years and from the middle-income group, appeared to be highly radicalised, Mittal said.

NIA sources added that while Suhail was in touch with a foreign-based Islamic State handler, who initially radicalised him by sharing literature on IS and extremist content through online resources, the other accused were motivated by Suhail who even gave them ‘kunya’ (Arabic) names to confirm their allegiance to IS.

The module had members like one Zubair who allegedly stole family gold to raise funds. A senior officer of UP police said Amroha and other areas like Shamli presented a tempting opportunity for those who sought to use the madrasa-mosque network to radicalise people.

Importantly, those arrested included a civil engineer studying at a private university in Noida and a BA student in Delhi University, apart from a garments dealer, welding shop owners and an autorickshaw driver.

The success spelt a big relief for the security establishment as well as the political leadership as a terror strike could have besmirched the Modi government’s ‘tough-on-terror’ credentials in the run-up to Lok Sabha polls.

The IS handler, possibly based in Syria or Afghanistan — NIA sees the latter as more likely — first worked on Suhail over a month. After Suhail was convinced to embrace the IS ideology, the handler told him that if he wanted to carry out attacks within India, he would have to arrange like-minded people as well as funds, explosives and weapons.

“Sohail chose to work with young men known to him in Amroha and Jaffrabad, first motivating them for jihad and then directing them to arrange the resources for attacks. The foreign-based handler too kept directing Suhail on do’s and don’ts. For instance, he asked Suhail to abandon his plan to make a suicide vest, saying it was ‘too much of a risk’,” an investigator told TOI.

The NIA hopes to retrieve WhatsApp and Telegram chats from phones seized from the accused. Thanks to the ‘surprise’ elements of the raids, the accused did not get the opportunity to delete the data.

Interestingly, two ISJK (IS-Jammu & Kashmir) terrorists arrested by Delhi Police in September 2018 had admitted to having sourced their weapons from Amroha.

While this is not the first time an IS-inspired group has been busted, given the crackdown on a pan-India module in early 2016 and subsequent neutralisation of modules in Telangana and Kerala, the advanced stage of terror plotting is seen as cause for worry. “It was planning not just a few but a huge number of bombs blasts,” Mittal said, citing the recoveries.

NEW DELHI: Jafrabad hid its anxieties under an appearance of calm on Thursday morning. Residents of this north-east Delhi locality comprising Chauhan Bangar and Babarpur actually expected more National Investigation Agency raids. Indeed, the anti-terrorist sleuths have reason to believe that for the past few years operatives of several terror groups have lived here.

The dingy lanes lined with jeans factories have been home to a migrant population from western UP and Bihar for decades now. The semi-urban pocket, located about 11km from the heart of the city, was created in the 1990s to settle people displaced in the city during the Emergency. The area with a majority Muslim populace is poorly developed, and the approach road to the locality is perennially choked with traffic.

In 2016, three alleged operatives of Jaish-e-Mohammad were nabbed in a NIA-Special Cell raid in the Chand Bagh area nearby. “It is unfortunate that Jafrabad’s name crops up every time there is a raid in the vicinity. We keep preaching to the people that they should keep away from antisocial activities, but it is difficult to keep an eye on everyone,” admitted Haji Mustaqeen, a cleric in a local mosque.

There are more than 10,000 small and medium units producing garments and small tools there. “Since the area borders Loni in UP, unscrupulous elements sneak in at times,” observed Abdul Hakim, a baker in the Chauhan Bangar neighbourhood. “If the youth are getting indoctrinated, it is certain that someone is tutoring them. It is the duty of every person to prevent such people from coming here.”

The greater worry for the residents is that the financially and educationally disadvantaged youngsters of the area are easy prey to such recruiters. “Even though there are government schools here, very few attend them because they are far apart and transportation is major problem. Actually, no one really bothers to send their children to schools,” claimed Gafoor.

Gafoor added, “Small-time industrial units keep popping up in the houses and add to the existing mess, making Jafrabad a favourite prowling ground for anti-India modules.”

The self-styled terror module busted by the national intelligence agency on Wednesday was being controlled by an online entity by the name of “Abu Huzaifa al Bakistani” who has been handling close to two dozen youths through various online platforms {The 'al Bakistani' suffix could be to throw the real scent off}.

Sources said this entity is recruiting and radicalising youth across south-east Asia to join the “Islamic State”. After initial contact on Facebook, the youths are brought on to closed groups on chat platforms like Threema and Telegram. Sources in an intelligence agency said that deep tracking of this handle has led them to believe that Huzaifa is a highly trained Pakistani national who has been radicalising Indian youths, possibly on behalf of Pakistan’s spy agency, the ISI.

The “Abu Huzaifa” handle has cropped up in several investigations and operations conducted by various agencies, including the Telangana police’s counter-intelligence unit which provided crucial inputs for Wednesday’s operation, multiple sources confirmed.

“This handle became unusually active last year after the online ID in the name of ‘Yusuf Al Hindi’ suddenly went dormant. Indian Mujahideen rebel Shafi Armar + , who later joined the Khorasan module of Islamic State, was operating that handle and recruiting Indian youth,” an officer explained.

Armar, who belonged to Bhatkal in Karnataka, is believed to have been killed last year in Syria. He is estimated to have inspired around 1,000 youths, mostly from South Asia, to come to Syria and fight. His brother, Sultan Armar, was killed in a drone strike in 2016. Once Al Hindi’s handle went down, there were stray attempts to radicalise youths using that ID. However, the real trouble began when Abu Huzaifa handles cropped up on various platforms and began to successfully brainwash youths.

The Indian intelligence agencies began to track Huzaifa handles — which was operating from behind several proxy servers — in October last year after inputs of it being a credible threat were confirmed. Sources in the agencies say that at least a dozen youths from north India are under the scanner as they are still in touch with this handle and have become part of groups through which jihadi propaganda is spread.

This handle has a very specific style of functioning. “After verifying a target’s loyalty and his inclination towards jihad, the handle asks them to rope in like-minded youths. At the next stage, the handler introduces them to one or two members from another module and motivates them to carry out a strike. They also give a separate name to each module. ln this case, they had christened the Delhi-Amroha module as Harkat-ul-Harb-e-Islam,” an officer explained.

The handler also remains on the lookout for youths with criminal backgrounds and gives them important posts in the module. “In this case, Sohail Mufti was chosen as the head of the outfit because of his past experience in arms dealing,” an officer claimed.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested a 21-year-old man for allegedly providing weapons to members of a suspected ISIS-inspired terror group who were arrested recently, officials said Friday.

The accused, identified as Naeem, was arrested from Meerut on Thursday night, they said.

He was allegedly involved in supplying weapons to the 10 men arrested by the NIA in the case, the officials said.

On December 26, the probe agency busted a suspected ISIS-inspired terror group and arrested 10 men, including a 'mufti' from Amroha in Uttar Pradesh, who it said were planning suicide attacks and serial blasts targeting politicians and government installations in Delhi and other parts of north India.

The NIA also recovered a locally-made rocket launcher, material for suicide vests and 112 alarm clocks to be used as timers during its searches in Delhi and Uttar Pradesh.

A Delhi court allowed the NIA 10 days custodial interrogation of the men after it produced them before it on December 27.

"The members were in an advanced stage of preparation. They were just waiting for the successful assembly of bombs and wanted to hit multiple locations using remote controlled IEDs and pipe bombs and carry out fidayeen attacks using suicide vests when needed," a senior NIA official said.

The group is called 'Harkat ul Harb e Islam', which loosely translates into war for the cause of Islam, he said.

The "highly-radicalised module" of youths in the age group of 20-35 years is completely self-funded and no criminal antecedent of its members surfaced so far, the official said.

Those arrested include the alleged mastermind, 29-year-old Mohammed Suhail, a 'mufti', or a Muslim legal expert empowered to give rulings on religious matters, from Amroha in western UP, an engineering student of Amity University in Noida and a third year graduation student in humanities in a university in Delhi as well as two welders, he said.

The headline is partially wrong because Jabat al-Nusra announced a tactical break-up with AQ on July 28, 2016 hoping to garner support from various other groups that were also fighting in Syria but were unwilling to join with an Al Qaeda-linked organization. It must be considered as part of ISIS.

Around eight men from Kerala and Karnataka are said to have joined Jabat Al-Nusra, a former al Qaeda outfit, in Syria, a National Investigation Agency (NIA) official said.

The NIA has registered a case against the suspects and begun investigations. This is the first time that the agency has filed a case against Indians for joining a terrorist outfit other than the Islamic State in Syria.

A senior NIA official said none of the accused left from India; they travelled to Syria from Qatar, where they were working. “We have information that the accused travelled to Syria in 2013, 2014 and 2015. Some of them died after participating in battles and some are still alive,” the official said.

The official said they got information about the suspects joining Al Nusra and its sub-unit, Jund Al Aqsa, while probing a case related to the Islamic State that had been registered initially by Kerala Police in October 2017.

Five of the accused have been identified as Midhilaj, Rashid M.V, Abdul Razak K.V., Manaf Rahman and Hamsa U.K — all residents of Kannur district. Hamsa, said to be the mastermind of the group, told NIA officials that he had information about some Indian men joining the Nusra front in Syria.

Hamsa was caught at Mangalore airport when he attempted to exit India in December 2016 with the intention of joining the IS.

“We came across information that some Indians also joined Nusra front. We are investigating; none of them are in India but all have been identified,” said the official.

Another official said many units of Al Nusra had merged with the IS and it was difficult to say anything about the group’s presence in Syria. “Jabat Al Nusra defied Al Qaeda and separated from it; it existed in Syria much before the IS. The period during which they left was probably the first flush of excitement under which when many men left, basically attracted to concept of jihad and Islamic Caliphate,” said a senior government official.